Charmayne
by ss9
Summary: A Servants spin off by Charlie, will the introduction of a rival for Flora Ryan's affections spur the butler into action?


He's been home for 5 days now and I must say something soon. No big declaration of my feelings, not that he would be likely to reciprocate them– he is almost as distant as he was before Cumberland. No, I will try to just regain our friendship. I can be happy with that, or at least given time I'm sure I can. I was foolish to ever think that anything would or could happen between us, the realities of our situation would make it impossible and he just doesn't think of me in that way, I am sure of it. I have to say something to him though, I can't go on having him barely look at me as if I'm nothing to him whatsoever. If he doesn't accept my gesture of friendship I will seriously consider taking a position at another household.

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The following evening after dinner, Flora Ryan made her way along the corridor to the butler's office. Pausing outside momentarily to try and quell her nerves she glanced through the window, she could see him at his desk scribbling away in his book, taking a deep breath she tentatively knocked on the door.

"Come in." He called, briefly glancing up. "Mrs Ryan, what can I do for you?"

"The accounts you wanted Mr Jarvis." She said handing them to him. "Everything should be in order you'll find."

'Well I would hope so Mrs Ryan.' He replied, looking up at her properly for the first time causing her to flush slightly. "Thank you for these." He said after a moment, turning back to his desk and picking up his pen again.

"Was there something else you wanted Mrs Ryan?" He asked when after a few moments she still stood in his office.

"Ah well…….yes….kind of." She replied haltingly. Taking a deep breath; she had to do this now, what did she have to lose after all? "It was more of a personal matter really Mr Jarvis"

"Uh-huh" he muttered, not taking his eyes off his book or stopping writing.

"I was wondering……..well I was hoping that……do you no think, now that you are all back from Cumbria, we could perhaps forget all that went on last winter……..between us I mean? The staff must pick up on the ……..on the tension, it can't make for a good example really……and things would just be much better if we…." She trailed off before murmuring "I would really like us to put all that behind us if possible?" looking down at him anxiously as he continued to write in his book.

"I see." He muttered eventually. "I wasn't aware of this 'tension' as you put it, between us" he replied, finally putting down his pen and turning round to face her.

"Oh come now Mr Jarvis, you know things haven't been the same between us since…..since, well you know…" she flustered "Your being away up north made me realise it wasn't worth falling out over and it would mean a lot if we could have a fresh start perhaps, to go back to how things were" Flora finished looking pleadingly at him.

Jarvis sat there for a few minutes just staring impassively at the housekeeper as she nervously clasped and unclasped her hands.

"Very well" he said softly before turning back once more to his accounts. "A fresh start, we'll put last winter behind us shall we" he continued before glancing up at her again.

"Was there yet something more Mrs Ryan?" he inquired, a slight hint of irritation in his voice as the housekeeper appeared slightly stunned and unable to reply. "Wanted to swap your day off perhaps? Or maybe apply for the vacant position of 3rd stablehand?" he added snorting at his joke.

"N-n-no, no that was all Mr Jarvis" she stammered quickly. "And thank you" she added quietly.

"Goodnight then Mrs Ryan." He said, giving her a brief smile before turning back to his desk.

"Goodnight Mr Jarvis" she replied softly, moving towards the door, glancing back at him just once before she closed it behind her.

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1st June 1851 – Walter Corey

Well I had a fairly strange and for once non-confrontational encounter with Flora Ryan tonight. She wanted a 'fresh start' for us, to forget all that business from last winter and to go back to how things were before…before everything kicked off. I suppose it would make things easier on a professional basis, so long as she doesn't get her bloody white paint out again I'm sure everything will be fine. Tension there was between us she said! Tension eh, I don't know if I would quite say that. I mean yes we didn't get on as we used to, but really, tension! Women eh, far too sensitive for their own good at times! Still, at least she appears to be now acting in a reasonable fashion after that whole ridiculous affair last winter, I'm sure we can get along most cordially from now on. I suppose if things go back to how they were before…., well before it all kicked off then it will admittedly be much better, for the rest of the staff of course…..and more pleasant for us too. It was much easier beforehand, and now that she has clearly decided to act in a more rational manner then there really isn't any reason why we cannot go back to being friends.

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Several hours later after much dashing around the house, the butler and housekeeper were on the steps waiting for the guest servants to arrive. Lord and Lady Rawlence would be arriving later that afternoon, hopefully after the servants had had time to settle in and get organised. Lord Rawlence was an old friend of the Earl's and had recently returned from travelling round Europe, subsequently the Earl had invited him to stay longer in order to catch up on old times and swap Europe travel tales (much like people nowadays swapping 'gap year stories' – urgh, so dull). Luckily only three servants were to be staying with them; the butler, under-housekeeper and first footman.

After a few minutes more of Jarvis pacing up and down in front of the house, a carriage came into view over the brow of the hill. A minute or so later it clattered into the courtyard and Fred moved forward to open the door for its occupants. Out stepped a tall man in a top hat who was clearly the butler; he was followed by a shorter, slightly plump woman with flyaway greying hair that looked as though it were about to escape from under her cap.

Stepping forward, Jarvis held out his hand to the man as he approached the steps. "Mr Edwards I presume? I'm Mr Jarvis, the butler here."

"Mr Jarvis. Delighted to meet you!" Mr Edwards said warmly, shaking Jarvis's hand with perhaps a little more enthusiasm than Jarvis would have liked before turning expectantly towards Flora.

"And this is Mrs Ryan, our housekeeper here at Taplows." Jarvis stated turning slightly to face Flora and giving her a brief smile as the housekeeper held out her hand to Mr Edwards who took it reverently in both of his.

"Absolutely enchanted to meet you Mrs Ryan. I can't tell you how much we have all been looking forward to experiencing the famous Taplows hospitality first hand." He practically whispered while staring intently at her, causing the housekeeper to blush slightly whilst subtly trying to extricate her hands from his grasp.

"That's very kind of you to say so Mr Edwards…"

"Oh please, do call me Oliver.." He swiftly interjected.

"Well I hope you find everything here as pleasant as you have been led to believe." Flora replied. "Oliver." She added, smiling back at him.

"Oh I am sure we will find everything to be even better than we expected Mrs Ryan, why ..." However he was suddenly interrupted by a simultaneous pointed coughing from both Jarvis and the woman standing by the carriage. Releasing Flora's hands finally, Mr Edwards turned to his colleague.

"Oh I am so sorry, how frightfully impolite of me. There was a slight staffing rearrangement for this trip and so this is Mrs Hitchin, our under-housekeeper, not Mrs James as I stated in my letter."

"Nice to meet you Mrs Hitchin. Mrs Ryan here will help you settle in and everything before their lordships arrive later." Jarvis said with a nod towards his housekeeper.

"I hope the journey wasn't too bad Mrs Hitchin, if you'd like to come this way I'll show you around and where Lady Rawlence will be staying." Mrs Ryan said pleasantly, turning slightly and indicating for the older woman to follow her up the stairs and into the house. "I should imagine they will be here fairly soon. His lordship was fairly vague as to the exact time of their arrival." She added conversationally as they entered the back door.

"Well Mr Edwards, we'd best get inside and I'll fill you in on what's happening over the next few days. The footmen will unload your carriage; if you can let me know if there is anything in particular that needs to be stored anywhere I'll see that it is so." Jarvis remarked, a slight edge to his voice as he noticed the other man didn't take his eyes off the departing figure of Flora Ryan until she disappeared from view.

"Yes, yes…..of course." Mr Edwards replied slightly distractedly, before turning round to Jarvis and exclaiming. "I must say Mr Jarvis, your housekeeper!"

"What about my housekeeper?" Jarvis replied frostily.

"Well she's…she's just stunning! Tell me; she's not actually married is she? I mean, she is Mrs purely for professional purposes only?"

"I really don't see how this is relevant at all Mr Edwards. Mrs Ryan is a woman of the utmost respectability and professionalism and her marital status should be neither here nor there." Jarvis snapped curtly. "Now if you'd like to follow me." He added, turning abruptly on his heel and marching back into the house, leaving Mr Edwards to hurry after him in the hope of catching another glimpse of the housekeeper.

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10th June 1851 – Flora Ryan

Well today has been nothing if not hectic. First of all those laundry baskets going missing, then two of the temporary kitchen maids falling ill and not turning up, and finally the early arrival of some of our guests and their servants. However we managed, as always, luckily only three servants arrived early with Lord and Lady Rawlence so we could accommodate them immediately. The senior staff seem pleasant enough; Mrs Hitchin is lovely, though I do get the impression she could be a little forgetful at times. The butler, Mr Edwards, also seems nice enough, if perhaps a little too eager to please and also not totally aware of one's personal space. He sat next to me at dinner and kept leaning a little too close for comfort whilst he was recounting this awfully long-winded anecdote about this ball in London that his master had attended recently. I think it was supposed to be amusing but to be perfectly honest he took so long telling it that by the end I was quite confused as to what I was supposed to be laughing at and just joined in with everyone else.

I'm sure however, that he was only making an effort to get on with everyone and to keep the conversation flowing, especially as Mr Jarvis was somewhat quieter than usual and didn't seem to say much to Mr Edwards at all, nor even join in the laughter at the end. I'm sure whatever it was that was preoccupying him will pass though and while I am on that subject I cannot even begin to describe how much better things are between us. It really does seem as if things could go back to how they were. We can now get on with our everyday business without this perpetual unspoken disagreement in the air. Nothing between us can, and will ever happen, but the fact that we can now talk again as friends is more than I thought I would have again.

Why the other day, quite unexpectedly, he did something that, a few months ago, I would never have imagined him doing. It was nothing big at all, but still slightly unusual for him and would have been unheard of last winter. I was on my way back to my office last Sunday before dinner, I was rushing as that is the only meal in the week that Mr Jarvis insists everyone is punctual for. I had just entered my office and had taken my apron off, I then turned round to head out the door to go to supper and stupidly managed to knock over a vase of flowers that was on my desk. The vase smashed and as luck would have it, the water went all over me, completely soaking my skirts. To make matters worse, I was wearing a paler dress than usual, and so, on being drenched my skirts went, not exactly see-through, but not entirely respectable either! As there was no way I could turn up to dinner like a half-drowned rat, I made my way upstairs to change as quickly as possible, trying to avoid as many staff as I could.

However just as I was turning the corner to go up the stairs I almost ran straight into Mr Jarvis. He was most surprised I think and even seemed to be slightly embarrassed after seeing the state of my skirts; he kept glancing down at them then quickly looking away. But he told me to go and change and that he would tell Felix to delay supper until I was ready, something that rarely if ever happens, especially for Sunday evening, even last week when Mrs Diggins and a couple of the valets were delayed, dinner was still served at the usual time.

Anyway it is getting late and there is much to be done over the next few days. I'm sure Mr Jarvis will be back to his usual self tomorrow; at least I know this time at supper when he was quiet and left early, it wasn't to do with me.

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As Mrs Ryan had predicted, the next few days were, if possible, even more hectic than the previous week. The Earl and his guests were being even more demanding than usual and consequently all the staff were rushed off their feet. A couple of days before the ball after checking that the extra kitchen maids had turned up and were under Mr Kraus's watchful eye, Mrs Ryan made her way back to her office for that morning's meeting with the butler.

However on reaching the room she found him already there and inspecting a vase of lilies on the sideboard. Clearing her throat slightly to announce her presence she made her way over to her desk to find the necessary lists and accounts for the meeting.

"Good morning Mr Jarvis. I hope everything was in order with the list of guests I gave you for his lordship?" She said slightly briskly. "I don't suppose you know anything about those do you?" She added more softly, a slight note of hope in her voice as she looked across at him. "They just appeared in my office after breakfast, no note or anything."

"Me? No, no idea I'm afraid." He refuted rather hastily causing her face to fall slightly.

"They are beautiful though and I suppose I did mention at dinner last night how I broke the other vase I had in here." She mused as she walked over to Jarvis before bending down and smelling one of the flowers.

"Hmmm perhaps…..I thought white lilies were traditional for funerals? Maybe someone is trying to tell you something!" He commented dryly with a slight snort of amusement before seeing the shocked and slightly worried look on Flora's face. "Merely jesting Mrs Ryan." He said quickly. "My apologies. That was in poor taste." He added sincerely, laying his hand on top of hers briefly before suddenly pulling away, walking over to the table and clearing his throat self-consciously. "Ahem, well yes we'd better get on, lots to do and all."

"Of course Mr Jarvis." She replied sitting down next to him and trying to ignore her racing pulse that his touch had set off and concentrate on the meeting. However she wasn't able to quite meet his eye throughout it and hurried off afterwards without finishing her tea, leaving the butler to wonder just who exactly would be sending her bunches of flowers all of a sudden.

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Later that day Jarvis was sitting in his office after dinner scribbling away furiously in his book, trying to get through the mountain of paperwork that had accumulated on his desk in the past few days. Suddenly there was a knock on the door and Mr Edwards popped his head round the door.

"Ah Mr Jarvis, hope this isn't a bad time but I thought maybe we could go through the valet arrangements you were talking about earlier."

Frowning slightly, Jarvis sighed, this was clearly a bad time couldn't the fool see that? However if he didn't do it now he'd just have to find time tomorrow and they had more guests arriving then. As long as he didn't hang around long so Jarvis could finish this then have that brandy with Felix. "No not at all Mr Edwards, we do need to discuss it anyway." He replied shortly, turning back to his desk and searching for the bit of paper he needed.

Twenty minutes later Jarvis was feeling increasingly exasperated with the other butler, they'd been through the arrangements twice now. Why the need to go through them yet again, was the fellow really that forgetful or maybe just incompetent? Just as he was about to snap at the other man that they had already used up enough of his precious time then there was another knock at the door. This time it was the chef who entered on Jarvis's wave.

"Mr Jarvis, Mr Edwards, I was just wondering if you were all finished but if you're busy I can come back later.." Felix trailed off.

"No, no Felix, come in, we're just about done here now." He said pointedly towards Mr Edwards.

"Excellent, you'll stay for a drink as well won't you Mr Edwards? I'm sure it's been a fairly hectic day today?" The chef said smiling at him, ignoring the glare that Jarvis sent him.

"Drink would be lovely old chap! Has been a rather rushed day yes don't you think so Walter?" Mr Edwards said with a chuckle.

"Indeed." Jarvis muttered through clenched teeth as he reached for the decanter.

Ten minutes later, Jarvis was feeling even more fed up than before and was currently on his third large glass of brandy. Bloody fool hasn't stopped prattling on about his stupid household he thought darkly as he slumped down into his chair, and Felix is being just as bad by encouraging him. However he was suddenly roused from his thoughts by a change in topic of conversation.

"Your housekeeper, Mrs Ryan, when's her afternoon off this week do you know?" Mr Edwards had just asked.

"Why do you want to know?" Jarvis cut in sharply before Felix could reply.

"Oh I was just wondering, thought maybe if she was headed into town she could have a companion that's all." Mr Edwards said with a smile that Jarvis failed to return completely.

'I'm sorry I don't know when her afternoon off is this week." Jarvis replied curtly, ignoring the fact that he knew exactly when it was but there was no way he was going to tell Mr Edwards that. "However I shouldn't imagine she will go into Tappleton this week as we have the ball coming up."

"Ah that's a pity. Oh well I'll ask her tomorrow. I'll find out too whether she liked those flowers I think should have been put in her office this morning." He added with a little wink causing Jarvis to turn and stare at him.

"Those were from you!"

"Well I just heard her mention how the other vase got broken and I thought how nice they would look in…"

"Hmm yes white lilies, funeral flowers aren't they? How thoughtful Mr Edwards!" Jarvis cut in sarcastically as he downed his remaining brandy.

"Oh gosh of course! How foolish of me! What must she be thinking?" He exclaimed before standing up and heading towards the door. "Thank you for the drink Mr Jarvis, most kind of you and thank you for pointing out the flower error, much obliged! Well goodnight gentlemen!"

"Bloody idiot!" Jarvis harrumphed as he poured himself another drink. "How on earth did he make butler and what does he think Flora Ryan is going to see in a buffoon like him?" He growled, ignoring the slight feeling of nausea when he said that and putting it entirely down to the brandy. Turning back round to Felix, he saw the chef was looking at him with a very amused expression. "What is it?" He demanded.

"Nothing, nothing! Just the minds of you English that's all! Fascinating!" The chef retorted, laughing at the scowl that promptly appeared on the butler's face.

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A couple of days later, Flora Ryan was on her way back to her office after having been called upstairs to sort out a problem with one of the guest's maids. Dinner for their lordships had finished an hour ago and the gentlemen had just finished their port and were making their way through to where the ladies were gathered around the piano in the drawing room. Coming down the staircase she was just about to turn into the servants' quarters when she caught a slightly slurred conversation between two of the lords as they left the dining room.

"Damn good mood old Algie was in tonight don't you think Henry?"

"Very good indeed, when he stopped harping on about that liver complaint of his that is!" Sir Widthorpe guffawed.

"Though mind you old boy, I'd be in a bloody good mood if my housekeeper was any where near as fetching as his! Mine's a surly old cow if ever you did see one!" Lord Rawlence chuckled.

"I know, what did the sly old dog do to get her I wonder?"

"Hmph, well I bet she wasn't picked solely on her character! I'm sure Algie had something other than running the household on his mind when he offered her the position! You must remember what he was like with that lady's maid back when his father was Earl here eh!"

"You're bloody right as well old chap! You don't think he is do you…! Well I wouldn't mind a slice of that type of household affairs if you know what I mean eh!"

Stifling a slight gasp, her body shaking slightly at their insinuations, Flora turned round quickly intent on rushing back to her office when she almost ran straight into the butler who was standing there with an expression of outrage and indignation on his face, having obviously heard the whole conversation.

"Mr Jarvis! I...ah, I didn't see you there, I was just…" She stuttered, going slowly crimson as he continued to gaze concernedly at her.

"Mrs Ryan, would you care to join me for a drink in my office?" He cut in gently. "I insist, there are a couple of small household matters I wanted to discuss anyway." He added on seeing she was about to protest. Nodding her agreement Flora followed the butler down the corridor to his office. Jarvis reached the door first and after ushering her in poured them both a drink from the decanter on the sideboard.

"Please, have a seat." He said smiling at her, indicating a chair and handing her a drink as she moved to take the offered seat. For a moment they were both silent, pretending to be deeply engrossed in the contents of their glasses before both clearing their throats rather loudly and then starting to speak at the same time.

"Mr Jarvis, was everything.."

"So Mr Kraus tells me that…" They both stopped abruptly and looked away rather awkwardly.

"Ahem, excuse me, please Mrs Ryan, do carry on."

"Oh yes, well I was just going to ask if everything went without hitch at dinner. One of my maids mentioned that Lady Rawlence had been complaining of a stomach upset earlier?"

Jarvis gave a small snort of derision into his drink before replying. "Hmph, apparently that old windbag always has some complaint or ailment dogging her that she has to moan about incessantly. It's all that keeps her going now that her beloved son has managed to gamble most of his inheritance away. Bloody idiot." He muttered. "I wouldn't worry too much about her if I were you Mrs Ryan, no doubt tomorrow she will have dreamt up some other dreadful malady that we will all of course be blamed for." He added smiling down at her.

A few minutes later after they had made more small talk about the current guests and their requirements there was a lull in conversation with both parties looking down at their glasses intently. Suddenly the Butler got up from his seat and walked over to the window, fiddling somewhat nervously with his brandy glass.

"They didn't have a clue what they were talking about Flora." He said quietly causing her to quickly look up him in surprise.

"Wha.."

However the butler carried on as if she hadn't started to talk. "They are drunken, ignorant, self-absorbed imbeciles who have about as much knowledge of how staff are appointed as they do about how to cook a Sunday roast. Don't heed a word they said, you were appointed your position because you were the best applicant for the job. No other reason at all do you hear?" He said firmly, turning round to look at her for the first time since moving over to the window.

"I…I'm sure they weren't being serious. They had been drinking after all…" She trailed off as the butler cut in impatiently, gesticulating in order to emphasise his point.

"They were acting in their usual egocentric, self-satisfied manner without a thought for anybody else's feelings or welfare but their own. I can tell you for certain that I would not have let the Earl hire anyone who I did not think was more than capable of doing the job properly."

"Thank you Mr Jarvis. That….that's very kind of you to say so." Flora mumbled.

"It's the truth Mrs Ryan; I'm not just saying it. If those pompous fools upstairs cannot see it then it is entirely their loss and you should.." He broke off, finding himself getting more worked up than he had anticipated. Taking a deep breath he continued in a more even tone. "What I mean to say Mrs Ryan, is that if you should ever find yourself….bothered by anyone, anyone at all, then please do not hesitate to come straight to me." He said quietly yet insistently, moving over to the fireplace and so he was now only a few feet away from her. "I wouldn't like to think that you weren't able to talk me if something problematic should ever arise." He added, looking down at her intently. For a moment neither spoke as they just looked at each other, then finally Flora began to speak when suddenly there was a knock at the door and a moment later Felix entered.

"Ah Mrs Ryan here you are, Mr Edwards was wondering where you are, he mentioned something about you meeting him earlier?"

Starting out of her chair Flora quickly got to her feet, blushing slightly. "Oh goodness yes of course, I was supposed to meet him in my office half an hour ago; he wanted my advice about some issue with Lady Rawlence or something." She explained hurriedly. "Thank you for the drink Mr Jarvis and…….good night gentlemen." She murmured, not quite able to meet Jarvis's eye as she left the room.

Slightly surprised by her hasty exit and sensing that he had interrupted a somewhat poignant moment, the chef turned to look at the butler who was still leaning against the mantelpiece and was now scowling into his glass.

"You don't need to be jealous of him Walter." Felix commented with a small smile as the butler turned round in astonishment.

"Jealous! Why in god's name would I be jealous of that fool? What have I got to be jealous of? His job?" Jarvis spat derisively as he turned back to glare at the door once more. "Have you been drinking Felix?" He added.

"Of course not, I was just saying that even if you were, then you shouldn't be." Felix said cryptically as he walked over to the side to pour himself a drink. "You do know she's in love with you don't you?" He remarked casually as he turned back to face the butler.

For a moment there was total silence in the room and then the butler's face started to go a rather peculiar shade of red and then purple as he appeared to be choking on his mouthful of brandy. Concerned, Felix walked over to him as Jarvis began to cough and splutter everywhere, indicating for the chef to pat him on the back to help.

"Are you alright Walter?"

"Went…….down….the wrong….way." The butler finally managed to gasp when he was able to stand upright once more, gratefully accepting the glass of water that Felix handed to him.

"Ahhh, for a moment I thought it might have been what I just said that set you off." The chef replied, raising one eyebrow in amusement.

"I don't know what you are talking about Felix, it's an absurd suggestion! Preposterous no less! Are you quite sure you haven't been drinking?"

"Oh Walter come on now! Do you mean to tell me that the thought has never once crossed your mind?" Felix exclaimed as he walked over to the sideboard to retrieve his drink.

"Are you calling my professionalism into question Mr Kraus?" Jarvis snapped as he sat back down into his fireside chair.

"Of course I'm not! It's just, well you're an astute man Walter you must have noticed it!" Felix insisted.

"Noticed what!"

'Everything! The way she looks at you; makes sure everything is done the way you like it; pays such attention to your opinion of her and her work; and the way her world virtually caved in when you and her weren't getting along!" The chef expounded loudly, trying to get the butler to meet his eye however Jarvis was studying the fireplace intently. "Well?"

Jarvis though, had had enough of looking at the fire and got up to get himself a much-needed second drink. "So, she was unhappy when we had a disagreement and she takes pride in her work. I hardly think that amounts to her being in….well I hardly think that constitutes anything more. You're just being melodramatic Felix." His attempt at confidence faltering slightly with his slightly questioning tone as he turned back round to face the chef.

"Can you honestly say that you've never noticed her looking at you in a way totally different from how she looks at anyone else?" Felix asked quietly.

"But that could be…I mean I'm her superior and…" He trailed off looking away into the fire, recalling her face from only a few minutes ago, just before Felix had interrupted; her lips parted slightly, that slight smile playing round her mouth that extended to her eyes as well, the slight blush in her cheeks when he told her he wanted her to be able to talk to him. "She…she can't be in love with me. Can she?" He almost whispered, turning slightly to look at Felix once more, who merely nodded benignly back at him. "No! You're just being ridiculous Felix. She's not in love with me! Honestly, at times I doubt she even likes me very much!" He stated confidently, shaking his head as if to rid himself of Felix's ludicrous notions.

"You don't have to like someone all the time to be in love with them." Felix commented, looking shrewdly at the butler who glared back at him whilst downing his drink in one.

"I think you are being utterly delusional Felix. The heat must have gone to your head." Jarvis muttered as he got up and poured himself another drink, his hand shaking slightly as he picked up the decanter, causing Felix to grin at the clearly unnerved butler. "Don't look at me like that Felix! I don't want to hear another word about it." Jarvis growled as he walked over to his desk and picked up piece of paper from it. "Here's the final list of guests you wanted, numbers shouldn't change between now and then hopefully." He said, changing the subject abruptly.

"Thank you." Felix said amusedly, flicking through the list. "You know Mrs Ryan was telling me there might be a few extra people if the Earl's cousins come down beforehand." He remarked innocently after a brief pause, trying to stifle his laughter as the butler whirled round at the mention of the housekeeper's name. "You're going to have to see her at some point you know Walter!" He said teasingly, watching with amusement as the increasingly uncomfortable butler tried his best to ignore his comments. "You know if you felt the same you could even talk to her about it…" He suggested slyly a few moments later.

However that was the final straw for Jarvis who hurriedly stood up, his face now slightly whiter than usual, and headed for the door muttering something about the Earl and how his presence was suddenly required elsewhere. Shaking his head in amusement at the rapidly retreating butler, Felix sat back in his chair to finish his drink, every so often smiling to himself and wondering just what exactly he had managed to stir up. "Breakfast should be interesting." He mused out loud to himself.

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The next morning after a somewhat sleepless night, the butler made his way down to breakfast slightly earlier than usual, secretly hoping that there would be relatively few people present so he could make a quick getaway afterwards and avoid bumping into certain members of his staff, namely his housekeeper and chef. On reaching the dining room it seemed the butler's luck was in as there were only a couple of valets plus Cook currently seated at the table. Dismissing the feeling of relief he felt at seeing the housekeeper's empty seat, Jarvis went to take his usual place at the head of the table but was suddenly interrupted by the appearance of Frederick Matkin at the door.

"Mr Jarvis sir, have you seen Mr Edwards this morning? Only Lord Rawlence has been asking for him for ages now."

"No Mr Matkin I have not had that pleasure yet this morning but when I do I will make sure to pass the message along." Jarvis replied drily.

"If you're looking for Mr Edwards then I just saw him coming out of the kitchen not thirty seconds ago." The housekeeper suddenly called out as she made her way along the corridor to breakfast.

"Ahh thank you Mrs Ryan." The footman replied as he dashed off to try and locate the errant butler.

"Good morning Mr Jarvis." Flora said brightly to the butler who seemed momentarily wrong-footed at her appearance. "Have you already had breakfast?" She added, slightly puzzled when he didn't seem to be making any move out of the doorway.

"No, no, just arrived myself Mrs Ryan." He mumbled hastily, not quite meeting her eye as he reluctantly backed away from the door and retreated to his seat, slightly alarmed when instead of heading to the other end of the table, the housekeeper took the seat immediately to the right of him.

"Everything alright Mrs Ryan?" He inquired rather shortly.

"Mr Jarvis, I was wondering if we could discuss the arrangements for this Friday that you mentioned yesterday as I won't be able to make today's meeting at 11 o'clock due to the new linen supplier arriving then." Flora replied crisply, automatically pouring the butler a cup of tea and passing it to him, at which he mumbled his thanks and quickly took it from her.

"I thought the new supplier was not arriving until Monday at the earliest?" Jarvis asked with a slight frown, glancing up at the housekeeper but still not managing to quite make eye contact. Instead his eyes were focussed somewhat lower as it had just caught his attention that the housekeeper had managed to misbutton a couple of the buttons on her dress that morning. Disturbed to find himself staring at her chest, especially after Felix's absurd suggestions last night, Jarvis dragged his mind back from that particular part of the housekeeper's body and back to the conversation and whether or not he needed to reply to Mrs Ryan's remark.

"Ahh, right….I see." He muttered, hoping that was an adequate answer to whatever she had just said and trying to keep his gaze and mind firmly on his bacon and eggs and not be drawn into any further conversation. However, despite his best efforts, now that he had noticed the incorrect buttoning he could not help but keep looking at them! Feeling increasingly uncomfortable, the butler tugged at his collar to try and stop the heat rising up his neck as he realised his odd behaviour was bound to be drawing strange looks from the rest of the staff.

Yet each time he glanced up from his breakfast, even to pass an item down the table, he found his gaze drawn several inches below the housekeeper's eye level and if he kept this up she was bound to notice soon and God knows what she would think then! He couldn't draw her attention to it so she could correct it, as then she would know. As would everyone else, that he had been staring at her bosom!

However just as Flora was going to further query the butler about the upcoming ball arrangements, Cook suddenly leant forward across the table towards her.

"Excuse me Mrs Ryan but you've got a smudge of something on your cheek." Slightly flustered, Flora quickly swiped at her face, checking her napkin for any dirt that had been removed. "No, other side…that's it..ooh no." Cook added as the housekeeper's attempts to clean her face only succeeded in spreading the dirt over her cheek.

"It's probably a bit of coal……..I was supervising a couple of the girls who recently started." Flora replied, now blushing slightly as everyone had turned to look at her as she was futilely wiping at her cheek. However just as she was about to leave the table to go find a mirror the butler suddenly leant forward on impulse, napkin in hand, and gently wiped the remaining smudge of coal dust from her temple as the housekeeper now turned an even deeper shade of pink than before.

"Good morning everyone!" The chef suddenly greeted cheerfully from the doorway as he swept into the room, his eyebrows raising in surprise when he saw the butler apparently caressing the housekeeper's cheek whilst everyone else in the room watched. Perhaps Walter had actually taken his word's of wisdom from last night to heart Felix thought with some amusement. "I hope we are all well this morning." The chef continued airily as he took his seat. 'I must apologise for keeping you up late last night talking Mr Jarvis. I do hope you managed to sleep alright though!" He added with a slight smile.

"I slept fine thank you Mr Kraus." Jarvis snapped somewhat curtly, quickly removing his hand and returning to his breakfast.

"I'm glad to hear it Mr Jarvis." Felix retorted. "Do you think it would be possible to have that meeting you mentioned yesterday between you, myself, and Mrs Ryan sometime today?" He asked quite innocently, watching with amusement to see if the butler would try to avoid any close contact with the housekeeper or whether he would try and prove that he was not at all fazed by any suggestions of extra-professional feelings on the housekeeper's account and could therefore manage to talk to her for prolonged periods of time. "This morning at eleven perhaps?"

However luckily for the butler and before he could come up with some excuse to fob Felix off, Mrs Ryan answered for him.

"I'm sorry Mr Kraus but I won't be able to make any time this morning, maybe this afternoon; we could discuss it at lunch if you like."

Feeling slightly relieved Jarvis just nodded and risked a glance up at the housekeeper, but he was yet again unable to keep from glancing at the misbuttoned area of her chest. However this time when he made himself look up he found the chef pointedly looking at him, a knowing grin on his face. Choking slightly and instantly mortified, knowing exactly how Felix would construe such actions, especially after his comments last night, Jarvis bolted the rest of his breakfast and headed out the door without another glance at anyone seated at the table, particularly the smirking chef and rather confused housekeeper.

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17th June 1851 – Flora Ryan

It is so typical of men that just as you think you have them all figured out that they then go and do something to make you entirely reconsider your opinion. In the past couple of weeks things have finally begun to resemble some sort of normality and peace between Mr Jarvis and myself. By that I mean that we can now go about our duties without the undercurrent of tension that was left after last winter, and there is not the underhand sniping that began to creep into our conversations, both in private and in front of the staff. However today it seemed as though it were last December all over again with his bizarre behaviour. Over breakfast he was jumpy and seemed somewhat distracted by something, to the point that he couldn't even look at anyone. Then later on in the afternoon when we were going through the weekly accounts he was being very odd.

A couple of times I caught him staring at me as if I were a vicar in a tutu, but then the second I caught his eye he would instantly look away. When Felix joined us the situation became increasingly strange. I felt almost on the outside of some joke between the two, except that Mr Jarvis does not seem too amused by it either. I seemed to get the impression that there conversation last night had led to some disagreement of sorts, although what about I can hardly imagine as it doesn't seem to be a professional matter. However that doesn't seem quite right as Felix seemed far from put out and at times could barely keep from grinning, despite the conversation being one of fish prices and other such things.

Perhaps it was something in the air for butler's yesterday as Mr Edwards was also acting in a slightly peculiar manner. He seems to have got it into his head that when I am in my office I am not busy and can therefore be interrupted to discuss trivial matters even though I am clearly in the middle of something. How his own housekeeper ever manages to do any work with him constantly interrupting I do no know, maybe she has worked out a way to subtly avoid him whenever she needs to settle down and work. Today as I was just sitting down to sort out all my books before going through the accounts with Mr Jarvis, Mr Edwards came in and talked non-stop for about ten minutes while I nodded politely. I'm afraid I rather switched off after a couple of minutes but I think he was talking about his household and the staff there.

He ended by rather pointedly telling me that there was probably going to be a housekeeper's position available soon which did startle me somewhat as I have never mentioned, at least not in public, that I am unhappy at Taplows and would be looking to leave. This time I just brushed the issue aside and told him he was sure to find someone else but if he asks me outright then of course I will decline. I don't know if I am being paranoid, after all it is a long time since any man complimented me the way he does, but I do get the feeling that some of the attention from Mr Edwards is not entirely of a professional nature.

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A couple of days later and it was the day before the ball; there was to be a big dinner that night for all the guests that had arrived thus far and so below stairs all was a hive of activity. It was approaching the evening and Jarvis had just handed the final tray of glasses over to Joe to be put round the table later on and was making his way back downstairs to try and find Mr Adams. That morning he had finally been able to look the housekeeper in the eye when addressing her for the first time since that ever-so-awkward breakfast scene a couple of days ago. She had certainly noticed his odd behaviour as he had caught her sending some rather perplexed and somewhat concerned looks his way and so he had decided to try and put Felix's suggestions to the back of his mind as it was the only way he was going to be able to act normally around her again, not that he would ever admit that to Felix of course. It was a ludicrous notion of the chef's anyway, his housekeeper, the virtuous to the point of prudishness Flora Ryan holding a torch for him! And suggesting that Jarvis should act upon any feelings he may have in the hope that they would be reciprocated! Shaking his head slightly and chiding himself as his mind began to wander in a rather unprofessional direction regarding his housekeeper, he couldn't keep thinking about that…that kind of shenanigans, it certainly wouldn't help him act normally around her again and was also most un-gentlemanlike conduct.

Turning the corner he glanced at his pocket watch realising he would have to find Mr Adams later as it was now time for a brief senior servants meeting with both the Taplows and the visiting servants and so headed back to his office.

Ten minutes later the meeting had just about concluded and so Flora made her way over to the door intending to head back upstairs to make sure the guest room preparation was going satisfactorily. At least Mr Jarvis seemed to be acting relatively normally again she thought, well as normally as he ever did, but the past couple of days there had definitely been something up and she couldn't tell whether she was being paranoid or it had been just around her that he had been acting strangely. Anyway it now seemed that he had snapped out of it and had been his usual, if somewhat slightly more distant self.

Shuffling her various pieces of paper she tried to find the one she had had in front of her a minute ago which detailed the various arrival times of all the guests but only managed to scatter her paperwork over the corridor as several sheets fell from her grasp. "Oh goodness, not again." She tutted to herself as she bent down to retrieve them.

"Allow me Mrs Ryan." Mr Edwards cut in gallantly as he leant down and scooped them all up, handing them back to her with a slight bow.

"Oh thank you." Flora replied, hoping he wouldn't try and corner her again for ages like he had done yesterday and the day before. She didn't want to be rude but today was going to be hectic enough as it was and she had a million and one things to see to before dinnertime. "Was there something else you wanted Mr Edwards?" She added, trying to carry on walking in the hope that would hint at her lack of time to chat, but the butler remained stood in her way.

"Well, ahem, yes you see I was wondering whether you would care to, perhaps later on maybe, join me for a drink or perhaps a quiet walk round the grounds, they seem so lovely yet I haven't really had a chance to explore them properly." Mr Edwards hedged somewhat nervously, he had been trying to get the housekeeper on her own for ages now but every time it seemed as though something came up and she had to rush off somewhere else or someone came and interrupted.

"Tonight? A walk, ummm, that sounds lovely Mr Edwards but…" However she was suddenly cut off with whatever she was going to say next by the timely, or untimely according to Mr Edwards, interruption by Mr Jarvis who cleared his throat loudly before addressing the other butler somewhat curtly.

"Glad to see we're all focussing on plans for tonight then, everything should go smoothly but it's a big night and we don't want any mishaps do we now, it's going to be a late night I imagine." Jarvis added pointedly.

"I'm sure everything will be fine Mr Jarvis, Mr Edwards thank you for the offer but maybe another night would be best as I'm sure we'll all be rushed off our feet tonight." The housekeeper said, trying to sound conciliatory and keep the note of relief that she felt out of her voice.

"Indeed, well I'm sure you know best Mrs Ryan, another night it shall be." Mr Edwards said with an air of disappointment, yet again he had failed to secure some time with the housekeeper. "If you'll excuse me I must go see his lordship." He added with a dazzlingly smile at the housekeeper which faded somewhat as he encountered Jarvis's less-than-amused expression as he turned to leave.

"I apologise if I was interrupting a private moment Mrs Ryan, perhaps those should be kept out of the corridors though." Jarvis said tersely, as the other man disappeared round the corner and out of earshot.

"No, not at all Mr Jarvis." Flora exclaimed, slightly horrified that he should think anything of that sort was going on, or was ever going to occur, between her and Mr Edwards. "Actually I wanted to thank you for saving me from a potentially rather embarrassing situation, I couldn't think of any polite way to refuse at that moment. It's not that I find his company disagreeable, it's just…….I don't want him to get the wrong impression if you know what I mean." She added quietly as the butler looked round at her in surprise.

"I'm glad to hear it Mrs Ryan" He replied gently, a slight smile playing round his lips as he tried to suppress the feeling of relief he felt at her denial of any wish to spend more time with the other man. "And for what it's worth, personally I would be wary of any offers for moonlit strolls around the gardens, especially from the esteemed Mr Edwards." He added, watching as she blushed and looked away from him.

"I'll bear that in mind Mr Jarvis, thank you." She replied awkwardly, shuffling her papers and looking down the corridor at where a couple of maids were scrubbing the floor, not quite knowing how to react to that type of advice from Mr Jarvis of all people.

"Well I'm sure we both have plenty to be getting on with Mrs Ryan. I will see you at dinner." He said softly, watching as she quickly made her way down the corridor. "Nice try Mr Edwards." He muttered under his breath as he himself turned to go back into his office.

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"A hectic but successful day, would you not say so Mr Jarvis?" The chef commented as he and the butler stepped outside to have a quiet cigar now that most of the evening's work was over and the guests had retired.

"Indeed Felix." Jarvis sighed as he exhaled deeply into the cool night air. "Exemplary work by all."

"Some more than others I would say though…our housekeeper for example." Felix remarked casually. "Wonderful work by her and all her girls, a credit to Taplows wouldn't you say so!"

"Very subtle Felix." Jarvis retorted dryly, he had been wondering just how long it would take the chef to bring up that subject. He had held off for the past two days, much to the butler's surprise, especially after that incident at breakfast the other morning, but now it seemed that the chef couldn't resist any longer.

"I take it you haven't managed to broach the subject with the lovely Flora Ryan then Walter?"

"Felix I am not being drawn into this once more. I have told you already, there is nothing to discuss." Jarvis rebuked with an air of finality, intending to close this topic of conversation once and for all.

"Walter no matter how much you may be trying to fool yourself, you are not fooling me!" Felix replied laughingly, causing the butler to turn and glare indignantly at him. "I saw you today with her after you saw off the competition..."

"It is not some bloody competition Felix!" Jarvis retorted "And anyway even if it was, why should that pompous arsehole win." He muttered darkly under his breath but the chef caught it and raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"Why don't you just tell her Walter? It's obvious how you both feel, well, obvious to anyone with an ounce of intelligence so no doubt we can discount some of your idiot footmen from that list." The chef sniffed as an aside. "Are you just going to carry on like this for the next 10 years? Both sending each other smitten looks and getting jealous every time another man shows up who finds her attractive?"

"I do not send smitten looks Felix! What do you think I am? Some bloody parlour maid eh!" Jarvis spluttered.

"Perhaps I exaggerate a little." Felix conceded. "But the atmosphere between the two of you this morning and the way you were looking at her. Can you honestly look me in the eye and tell me that you do not find the idea of being with her remotely appealing?" He implored, stopping as they reached the edge of the gravel and turning to face the butler.

She's an attractive woman, of course I…" Jarvis trailed off, turning away from the chef to gaze out over the lake

"So what's the problem then?" The chef prompted softly.

"Even if I did feel that way….I can't just go up to her and say something like that. How on earth would I bring it up? And what if she…" Again he trailed off, not wanting to voice these private thoughts and worries.

"What if she what?" The chef probed gently. "Said she didn't feel the same?"

"Something like that." Jarvis muttered as he took a deep puff of his cigar. "There's no guarantee, I'd probably just make an utter fool of myself were I to say anything." He added despondently.

"So you have thought about it then?" Felix commented rather smugly.

"I was talking hypothetically Felix." Jarvis snapped back as he turned to walk back towards the house.

"Fine, fine! But do not complain to me if she decides she cannot wait forever and moves on from here and you realise your mistake too late." The chef warned only half-jokingly.

"I think I am rather the confirmed bachelor type Felix, and I'm afraid I can't see that changing anytime soon, despite your little schemes." Jarvis added as they entered the side door and made their way along to the butler's office.

"Ahh well, I can live and hope no!" Felix sighed dramatically as the butler sent him a withering look, neither of them noticing the figure at the end of the corridor who, on emerging from the laundry room, had caught the tail end of their conversation and now hurriedly made her way through the servants' quarters and up to her room.

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19th June 1851 – Flora Ryan

I don't know how I can have been so stupid these past few weeks, no past few months, years even. I've been holding out in the hope that one day he'll realise he too has these feelings for me and then everything will end happily ever after. Maybe his opinion of me has been correct all along, I'm nothing more than an over-emotional woman living in her own fantasy world, ever removed from reality. I heard it from his own lips today, he is a confirmed bachelor and has no desire to change that fact, and anything else is no more than wishful fantasy on my part.

I need to stop deluding myself and move on with my life…….and I can't do that if I remain at Taplows, no matter how much I tell myself that I can do it, I would just be convincing myself I am happy to live like this for the rest of my career when in reality I can't. I can get a new position somewhere else and in a few years all this will be behind me and at least I will have left when things are fine between us so those are the final memories I'll take with me. I couldn't bear it also if when I left, he only thought it a relief to be rid of me and did not regard me as more than a colleague, however little more.

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The day of the ball was dawned sunny and bright and luckily remained that way right through to the evening. Everything was, as expected, frantic for the servants but everything seemed to go smoothly and so the next day it was a rather tired but relieved group of both senior and lower servants that attended breakfast before going to attend to the inevitable hangovers of their masters. After breakfast Flora made her way somewhat nervously along to the butler's office where she had seen him retreat to, she had waited until the stress of the ball was over but now it was time to take steps towards leaving Taplows and the first major hurdle lay in front of her.

"Ah Mrs Ryan, do come in, what can I do for you." Jarvis inquired graciously as he sat back in his chair, the ball had gone fine, it was a lovely summer day, and most of the guests would be departing soon, nothing could spoil his good mood.

"Mr Jarvis I came to talk to you about a personal matter."

"Oh really Mrs Ryan?" Jarvis replied, raising an eyebrow in surprise. What on earth could this be about?

Taking a deep breath she took the plunge and hurriedly continued. "I've been thinking about this for some time now and I've decided that the time has come for me to move on from Taplows and so I've accepted Mr Edwards's kind offer of a job at his house."

"Mr Edwards? Are you serious?" Jarvis managed to splutter after a few moments

"Quite serious, I spoke to him briefly yesterday and…are you alright Mr Jarvis, you seem fairly flushed?" Flora broke off, concerned at the butler's unexpected reaction to her news.

"Why on earth…why, I mean, I thought you were better than that for heaven's sake!" He muttered, trailing off as he got up from his chair and stalked over to the window before whirling round to face her again.

"I beg your pardon Mr Jarvis!" Flora exclaimed indignantly.

"Oh for heaven's sake woman you know what I'm talking about! It's quite clear that that man did not just have a housekeeper's position in mind when he offered you that job! I didn't think you were that sort of person!" He retorted.

"I am not at all, and I would have hoped you would know me better than that!" Flora retorted angrily, completely shocked at his sudden outburst. "He mentioned the vacancy in passing and it was me that brought it up with him again yesterday."

"Oh he just happened to mention it did he. Nothing to do with the fact that he follows you about like some lapdog, constantly making a nuisance of himself and..."

"He does not make a nuisance of himself, and why should it bother you who I spend my free time with as long as it isn't interfering with my work?"

"Damnit of course it bothers me Flora, he's an absolute…" Jarvis suddenly broke off, realising what he was about to say. "Of course it bothers me when people go round poaching my staff under my nose, I find it most disagreeable Mrs Ryan." He continued more evenly. "If you're determined to leave I'll have your character ready as soon as possible." He added coldly, sitting back down at his desk and picking up his pen again. "Was that all?" He asked detachedly, not looking up at her.

"Yes that was all." She whispered as she backed towards the door, turning and leaving quickly, hoping he hadn't seen the tears that now threatened to spill down her cheeks and ruin her composure.

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Later that evening Jarvis had just finished attending the Earl who had insisted on his butler bringing him his nightcap and no doubt had also wanted reassurance that the servants' party that evening would be kept small with obviously as little expense and inconvenience to himself as possible. Once Jarvis had done the obligatory reassurances and made sure his lordship's glass and bedside decanter were full, he headed back to the servants' quarters. As he was making his way downstairs he noticed that a vase on one of the windowsills had been knocked over by a draft from the open window. Tutting to himself and intending to collar the next servant he saw to go and clear it up, he leant over the sill in order to close the window. Glancing down over the grounds as dusk gathered, he suddenly caught sight of a figure wandering down near the lake. He opened the window wider intending to bellow at whichever skiving servant what on earth did they think they were doing skulking down there at this time in the evening when there was work to be done. It looked like a woman but he was fairly sure all the aristocracy were inside, either in the drawing room or in their rooms. Squinting slightly to try and make out who it was, he suddenly started as he realised exactly which female member of the senior staff was down by the lake.

What the hell was she doing out there on her own? She knew the party was starting soon and there was still a lot to do. Now was hardly the moment for quiet reflection! Unless….unless she hadn't gone out there to think… Oh god no! She couldn't he told himself! Flora Ryan is a sensible woman and would never throw herself in a lake over some silly argument. Of course not, don't be so bloody irrational he chided himself, you're behaving just like her now! Except…..maybe she was that upset? He hadn't exactly been fair on the woman if he was being entirely truthful. Thinking back he could see her face as she turned away from him and the tears that were brimming in her eyes as she left the room, and then there had been that maid's conversation he had overheard earlier about someone crying in their room. At the time he had dismissed it as merely some kitchen maid who had got involved with one of his good-for-nothing footmen, but maybe it wasn't? Spinning round, he marched quickly down the stairs and headed for the nearest door to the gardens. He had to just make sure everything was ok; he'd never forgive himself if anything happened to her when he was partly to blame.

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Meanwhile, the figure in the gardens was doing precisely what Jarvis had dismissed as unlikely. A quiet walk round the gardens and lake had given Flora Ryan the much needed opportunity for reflection on her decision. It was the right one; that was certain, she told herself. Leaving Taplows was for the best, it was time to move on. There was no point in staying here, it would just be a constant reminder of what she couldn't have if she had to see and speak to him everyday, especially now, as after that argument things would probably go back to how they were last winter, and that she just couldn't bear.

Sighing Flora wandered round to where the jetty was, she should probably be getting back inside as the servant's party was soon and no doubt people would be wondering where she was. Mr Jarvis is probably searching for me and shouting about my incompetence at this very moment she thought bitterly. As she turned round to head back up the slope towards the house, there was a sudden gust of wind which blew her cap right off her head and over the jetty into the water. Exclaiming her annoyance she turned back and walked out onto the jetty to try and retrieve it. In her haste she failed to notice the figure running down the slope towards the lake and instead concentrated on trying to reach her cap. However it was just a tiny bit too far out for her to reach so she got to her feet again, intent on finding a stick to fish her cap out with.

However, to her surprise, when she stood up and began to head back along the jetty, she saw the butler running wildly towards her, a look of sheer concern on his face.

"Flora don't! Wait, I…"

"Mr Jarvis, what…" She barely had time to utter before he had reached her and grasping her roughly by the shoulders, pulled her into his arms, his lips seeking hers as his hands reached up to cup her face firmly before ploughing through her hair and then running down her back as he kissed her passionately. Unable to do anything else and helpless to her own emotions, Flora clung to him with the same desperate need and kissed him back just as passionately, running her fingers through his hair as he pulled her closer to him. Finally they broke apart, the butler gazing at her breathlessly, looking slightly dazed by the sudden torrent of emotion he had just displayed.

"Flora, I'm…I, forgive me. I thought you were.." He broke off, not wanting to voice what he had thought.

"You thought what Mr Jarvis?" Flora retorted sharply although still rather breathlessly as she tried to regain control over her treacherous body. How dare he do this to her! After what he had said to her that very afternoon and how he had made it clear that he didn't care whether she stayed at Taplows or not. Did he then expect her to simply swoon into his arms the minute he deigned to show her some affection? Although you were hardly complaining a few moments ago, a little voice in the back of her mind reminded her. Pushing that thought firmly aside she continued sarcastically. "That perhaps due to your remarks this afternoon I had decided to forsake everything and end my life here and now in the Earl of Taplows lake?"

"I'm not quite sure what I was thinking." He muttered.

"Well I think that much was obvious. But let me reassure you Mr Jarvis, I have no intention of jumping into this, or any other lake, not now or indeed at any other time in the future. I am quite content with my life, despite certain people's misgivings about my competence at my job. I am also perfectly happy with my decision to leave Taplows and intend to inform the Earl tomorrow morning."

"But, you.." He tried to say but Flora carried on as if he hadn't spoken.

"So you may rest assured Mr Jarvis that I am not about to do anything as femininely irrational as you clearly seem to expect from me."

"Well I'm glad to hear it Mrs Ryan. My apologies for acting out of turn." He replied bitterly, if this was how she felt then he wasn't going to attempt to change her mind. Her feelings for him couldn't be that strong after all and he was damned if he was going to be the one to beg her to stay.

"I'm glad that is sorted then Mr Jarvis, now if you will excuse me I believe there is still lots to be done before the party later." And with that she turned and walked sedately up the hill towards the house leaving Jarvis to stand and stare after her.

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An hour or so later the party was in full swing with several members of the lower servants well on their way to a severe hangover for the next day. A few daring, or perhaps rather inebriated individuals had taken immediately to the dance floor once the tables had been cleared from the centre of the servants' hall. Some of the more perceptive members of staff had noticed that the butler and housekeeper still hadn't resolved their differences from their argument earlier and as such were keeping as far away from one another as possible.

The butler had stormed into the party rather late and had conspicuously avoided both the housekeeper and the visiting butler, except to glare at the latter whenever he made a particularly loud comment. Flora for her part was trying to remain as composed as possible and trying her hardest to put the incident by the lake out of her mind. Why on earth had he done that? Had he really thought she was going to jump in the lake and that was what had prompted him to act in that way, to kiss her like…Stop it! She told herself as she felt herself blushing at the thought once more and shaking her head to rid herself of those thoughts she looked up intending to go across to where Felix was standing by the piano but inadvertently caught the butler's eye who stared intently at her for a few moments before downing his drink and then marching across to the opposite side of the room to get a refill, glaring at the maid who dared to get in his way as he did so. Desperately trying to quell the blush that she knew for sure was now spreading across her cheeks; Flora turned around and in doing so almost bumped into Mr Edwards who had been hovering at her elbow.

"Oh Mr Edwards I'm so sorry, I didn't see you there."

"Quite alright Mrs Ryan, I was merely wondering whether I could have the next dance, this one is a particular favourite of mine you see…" He trailed off hopefully.

Wondering how she could avoid this without seeming rude, Flora glanced over Mr Edwards's shoulder where she could see Jarvis a few yards away, glaring with such fervour at the other butler's back and she caught his eye briefly before turning back to Mr Edwards having changed her mind. Just because Mr Jarvis was determined to have a lousy evening did not mean that she had to follow suit.

"I'd be delighted Mr Edwards." She replied, smiling sweetly up at him and allowing him to escort her onto the dance floor, glancing up at Jarvis as she did so but he had now pointedly turned his back on the dancing and was pouring himself another drink.

A few minutes later and the other butler in the room was trying his best to quash the rather unexpected and violent urge that kept rising up in him to march across to the dance floor and wrench his housekeeper out of the arms of that pompous moron. _His _housekeeper, he reiterated to himself, she was clearly just being stubborn and carrying on this pointless charade just to annoy him, she wasn't actually going to leave Taplows now was she! On the dance floor the housekeeper breathed a discrete sigh of relief as her dance with the ever so enthusiastic Mr Edwards came to an end, he wasn't such a bad dancer but obviously had a rather limited conception of one's personal space, so much so that he had felt the need to constantly invade hers during the dance. Stepping away a fraction as the last notes died away he bowed his head and took her hand, raising it to his lips and kissing her softly on the knuckles.

"Thank you Mrs Ryan. An absolute pleasure that was, I must make sure to claim you for one last dance before the evening is..."

"Ahem Mr Edwards you are required above stairs. Lord Rawlence has sudden urgent need of you." Jarvis suddenly interjected; seemingly unaware of the private moment he was interrupting. "Mrs Ryan, would you do me the honour?" He added impassively, holding out his hand and indicating to the dance floor as Fred struck up the beginning chords of the next dance, watching as she practically glared up at him but, realising there was no polite way of refusing, reluctantly accepted his hand as he led her back to the centre of the floor.

As luck would have it, or perhaps for the amusement of the watching footmen, the next dance was a particularly slow waltz, though at least she knew the steps Flora thought with some relief. Why had he asked her to dance tonight? She had been at Taplows for almost six years and he had only ever danced with her once before and that had been three years ago and was undoubtedly due to the prompting of the footmen and influence of too much port on New Year's Eve she was sure. Trying to concentrate on the timing of the dance she desperately tried to ignore the pounding of her heart at the sensation of being so close to him, his hand resting gently on her waist, the other entwined with hers as he led her through the steps with surprising grace.

"I think Mrs Diggins is hoping our esteemed under-butler will pluck up the courage to ask her for a dance! That would be an interesting sight!" Jarvis suddenly murmured in her ear. Looking up suddenly as he nodded over her shoulder, Flora quickly glanced over at the far corner of the room where the lady's maid did indeed appear to be gazing over at where Mr Adams was standing. Turning back she caught Jarvis's eye and couldn't resist smiling up at him at the thought, feeling the breath catch slightly in her throat as he smiled back.

"It would indeed!" Flora replied softly. "Did Lord Rawlence really ring for Mr Edwards? I didn't hear any of the bells go." She added, raising an eyebrow slightly.

"Do you doubt my word Mrs Ryan?" Jarvis retorted. "And anyway, was it really so dreadful that he had to leave? From where I was standing it definitely seemed as though he was the more enthusiastic party during that dance."

"Oh not this again please Mr Jarvis! This is neither the time nor the place and I believe I made my opinions on that subject perfectly clear already."

"You're not denying it and anyway is it so wrong that I should care about the welfare of my staff?" The butler hissed back, his grip on her tightening slightly as he willed her to look up at him again but instead she was steadfastly concentrating on his shoulder and refusing to meet his gaze. Fortunately for her she was saved from answering by the end of the dance. Moving away from the butler as he rather reluctantly let her go; she mumbled her thanks for the dance and then some excuse about needing to check something in the linen room before moving hastily off the dance floor and out the door.

--------------------------------------------------

As she left the merriment behind her Flora quickly made her way through the servants' quarters to the door leading to the gardens and feeling in need of some fresh air she stepped out into the cool night air to try and calm her thoughts. What was wrong with her these past few days? Did she really want to leave Taplows and all the people here? And why was Mr Jarvis sending out such mixed signals all of a sudden? Sighing as she reached the ornamental pond that was mostly hidden from the house by the trees surrounding it; she sat down on one of the stone seats round the edge and desperately tried to make sense of her raging emotions. Was it jealously possibly that was fuelling Walter's behaviour towards Mr Edwards? That would explain his animosity towards him and his reluctance to let her leave as well. But then what about that conversation with Felix she had overheard, from that it sounded like Mr Jarvis already had someone else in mind when it came to romance and if so it was pointless for her to rehash all these arguments in her head. Maybe he just disliked Mr Edwards and therefore didn't want to lose any of his staff to the man.

------------------------

Meanwhile back at the party Mr Jarvis's mood had seemed to descend back into the dark cloud that it had arrived in as the butler had moodily retreated to the back of the room and wasn't making an effort to talk to anyone. Ten minutes or so after Mrs Ryan's departure Mr Edwards had arrived looking slightly disgruntled and throwing reproachful looks at the other butler when, on inspection of the room, it appeared that the Taplows housekeeper was no longer present.

"She went outside if you're interested." Felix suddenly muttered in Jarvis's ear who quickly turned round in surprise, having been so lost in thought he hadn't noticed the chef approach him. Looking round at the chef for a couple of moments, he didn't say anything but then put down his drink and quietly left the room.

-------------------------

Shivering slightly with cold Flora finally stood up and turned to make her way back to the house, hopefully she would be able to avoid any curious servants and make it up to her room without facing anyone. However as she stood up she suddenly caught sight of the butler standing and watching her from a few yards away.

"You left rather abruptly Mrs Ryan. I came to check if everything was alright."

"Of course Mr Jarvis." Flora replied, her voice coming out far more strained than she would have liked. "Why wouldn't everything be alright?"

"I don't know, perhaps you'd like to tell me. You certainly have seemed on edge this evening. Maybe you're having second thoughts about leaving Taplows, that it isn't the right decision?" He retorted, moving a bit closer to her.

"That is not my concern at all Mr Jarvis, I just wanted a little fresh air that is…"

"Why do you want to leave here Mrs Ryan?" He interrupted suddenly, catching her off guard slightly as she stuttered somewhat to reply.

"I…I told you before when…"

"Not really Mrs Ryan which is why I am asking you now." He shot back, still staring at her, an unreadable expression on his face.

"I just feel it is time for a change, I've been at Taplows for a while and the longer I leave it the harder it will be for me to find a position elsewhere. A change would be a positive thing Mr Jarvis."

"Be that as it may, but why try to fix something when there isn't anything specifically wrong with your situation at the moment." He replied. "Unless there is something else…..are you happy at Taplows?" He asked softly.

"I……Yes, I am." She whispered without conviction, fiddling with the ring on her finger and not managing to look at him as she spoke.

"Then why do you want to leave Flora?" He repeated softly, taking another step towards her so they were only a couple of metres apart.

"Who says I couldn't be as happy elsewhere? I'm sure the staff in Berkshire will be just as lovely and I will make friends, it is also closer to where my brother lives in London." She retorted somewhat sharply, why was he asking her these questions now? "You ask me why I should leave but you haven't explicitly told me why I should stay."

"As you said yourself, you are happy here, you know the staff and family, the pay won't be any better in Mr Edward's household, and from what I have seen of Lord and Lady Rawlence, personally I would choose the Earl, even with Lady Caroline, over them any day."

"Those are reasons yes, but they are no more compelling than mine for leaving. What is there that is keeping me here at Taplows that I won't get anywhere else?" Flora demanded, looking up at him again.

Hesitating for a moment the butler stood there looking at her slightly flushed face, unsure what to say. What was she really asking him? Was she simply asking him to list the merits of Taplows over another stately home or was she asking something more? Did he dare risk sticking his neck out and asking her to stay for him?

There's no guarantee of it being so welcoming, indeed if Mr Edward's is any indication of the calibre of staff that would be one thing to put me off for certain." Jarvis snorted slightly, unable to come up with any better reason to make her stay.

"No other reason why I should stay then Mr Jarvis, nothing except your personal dislike of one man." She virtually pleaded, looking up at him and willing him to say something, anything to indicate he wanted her to stay for his own sake.

"I…." The words seeming to stick in his throat as he looked down at her, a half-pleading, half-hopeful expression on her face.

"Yes…" She whispered.

"If you can't think of one yourself then what use am I going to be?" He muttered after a few moments, bowing his head and looking away from her, fiddling with the low hanging blossom from one of the trees as he did so.

"If you say so Mr Jarvis." She murmured back, trying desperately to keep the bitter disappointment out of her voice and willing with all her strength the tears that were forming not to fall, at least not while he was still here. "I should be getting back inside really, it's getting cold now." She muttered as she quickly turned away from him, quickening her pace as she made her way back to the main house, hoping he wouldn't try and catch up with her as by the time she had reached the door the tears had begun to fall.

- - - -

Staring after her Jarvis watched as she quickly disappeared into the shadows as she neared the house before moodily swiping at the branch nearest him and causing several blossoms to fall from it onto the grass.

The merriment from the servants' party was far from dying down when the butler finally made it inside and upstairs to retire for the night. Storming up the stairs and along the corridor to his room he suddenly paused on the threshold before turning and marching further along the corridor to where the female senior servants' bedrooms were. Reaching the housekeeper's door he paused again, what was he actually going to say to her? What would happen if he asked her to stay and she said no, that she had never entertained any feelings for him and that he was completely out of line in asking her? Could Felix have totally misread the whole situation and he was just going to look a total fool by saying something to her?

Turning away as the doubts surfaced once more in his mind, Jarvis made to go back to his room. But what if Felix was right, she hadn't exactly been unresponsive to his advances by the lake he thought with a slight smirk, no matter what she had tried to claim afterwards. Turning on his heel again he stared at the wood of the door for several moments, putting his hand into his jacket pocket where there lay nestled one of the white blossoms from earlier, before raising his hand to knock. However just as before when she asked him why she should stay, something inexplicable stopped him from committing himself at the last moment. Closing his eyes he slowly withdrew his hand, staring at the door for a few moments more.

Just as he was about to turn and leave however, the door suddenly opened and the housekeeper stepped out clutching an empty water jug.

"Mrs Ryan….I…uh." Jarvis stuttered.

"Mr Jarvis….Did you…I mean, can I help you?" Flora managed to squeak in reply, wishing she was not clad merely in her nightdress, having not picked up a shawl as she had only planned on quickly popping down the corridor to refill her water jug.

Feeling very put upon the spot the butler shifted awkwardly from foot to foot whilst desperately trying to think of a reason why he was lurking outside her door.

"I was ummm, I was wondering whether you still needed those extra maids from the village for the next couple of days." Jarvis mumbled, not looking her directly in the eye. "To help with the clearing up perhaps." He added, silently cursing his inability to come up with anything more convincing than that and risking a glance up at her to see if she had by any chance bought it. However once again he didn't manage to actually meet the housekeeper's eye as this time his gaze was drawn further down. Gulping slightly as he realised her nightdress was decidedly scantier than he had first thought, he tried to drag his eyes away but was failing miserably.

"I, oh….yes perhaps, that would be most helpful." Flora stammered, slightly perplexed at the butler's sudden desire to know the maid arrangements at midnight. "Shall I send into town for them tomorrow?" She prompted as the butler didn't reply and appeared distracted with something. Looking at him properly she suddenly realised where his gaze was focussed and blushing furiously, quickly moved her free hand up to fiddle with her hair and cover her chest.

Realising he had been caught Jarvis quickly averted his gaze, raising a hand to loosen his collar and self-consciously scratch the back of his neck. "That…that will be fine Mrs Ryan." He managed to stutter, mortified at what she must be thinking. "Thank you for clearing that up, I'll leave you to….to…" He muttered trailing off as he turned away properly and quickly beat a retreat down the corridor.

Staring after him in bemusement, Flora shook her head slightly before leaning back into to her room to grasp a shawl, just in case she should bump into any more male members of staff lurking around the female staff bedrooms. Heading slowly down the corridor she couldn't help but wonder why on earth had he come to see her. That reason about the maids was ludicrous, he had always made it perfectly clear that the management of the female staff was her domain and he would rarely interfere, especially not over something so minor as that. So lost in thought was she that she almost walked past something on the floor but at the last moment it caught her eye.

Pausing, she bent down to pick it up and on standing up to get a better look gave a small gasp as she recognised the delicate white blossom from the tree in the garden where they had been talking earlier.

Immediately looking up at the now empty corridor her thoughts flew to the most obvious candidate for dropping it. It had obviously fallen out of his pocket when he went back to his room but why would he have it in there in the first place? Unconsciously bringing it closer to her face, she inhaled the delicate scent and for a moment was unable to suppress the thought of him coming to her room, getting down on one knee, asking her to stay, and then presenting her the blossom as a token of his affection. Shaking her head vigorously as she tried to rid herself of those foolish fantasies, Flora abruptly pulled the blossom away but somehow was unable to make herself throw it on the floor. There would be no harm in keeping it really she told herself, and it could remind her how beautiful the Taplows gardens could look in summer when she was far away and long gone from here. Not a reminder of him she told herself strictly, a reminder of Taplows. Pulling the shawl tighter round her shoulders as a shiver ran through her, she tucked the small blossom carefully away in the pocket of her nightgown before carrying on down the corridor.

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Dinner the next evening was not the most light-hearted of affairs, most staff had spent the day recovering from the excesses of last night but all were intrigued as to the reason behind the early departures from the party of both butler and housekeeper. It hadn't escaped notice either that the pair of them were back to sitting at opposite ends of the table and avoiding eye contact and conversation except when necessary. Jarvis had, for his part, been keeping away from his housekeeper for much of the day, shutting himself up in his office for most of it. He was still mortified over what she must be thinking of him after last night and as a result had avoided all other meals where he could be forced into conversation with her. He still hadn't been able to totally avoid confrontation as, on his arrival at the dining room, he had almost bumped straight into the lady in question leading to mumbled apologies on both parts.

He had noticed then that pinned to the collar of her dress was a rather familiar looking white blossom. What was she wearing that for? He had assumed he had dropped it in the corridor last night as he hadn't been able to find it on returning to his room, she must have then picked it up later. Why was she wearing it now though he wondered, did she know it was him who had dropped it? Trying to get rid of these thoughts as he took his seat, the butler consciously made an effort not to stare at the delicate blossom as he didn't want a repeat of last night's case of wandering eyes, he really would then never be able to look at his housekeeper without blushing.

Most of dinner passed fairly amicably however, without any particularly tense moments. Flora was seated at her end of the table and Mr Edwards had insisted once again on taking a seat immediately to her right, something that had caused Jarvis to glare at the other man, who, oblivious to the hostile stares, chattered incessantly to the housekeeper throughout the meal. Ever since she had mentioned to him that she was thinking of leaving Taplows then he had been even more attentive to her than before.

She knew he was probably interested in a slightly relationship that was something more than professional if she became housekeeper at his house, she just hoped she would be able to convince him otherwise once she moved there. Sighing to herself, she glanced up from her dessert to the other end of the table where the butler was morosely picking at his food. He had definitely been avoiding her today, not coming to breakfast or lunch and had avoided eye contact when they did see each other around the house. Perhaps he was embarrassed about last night she thought, after all she had caught him ogling her in her nightdress, behaviour that was more reminiscent of one of his footmen than a respectable butler. Blushing slightly at the memory, she suddenly caught his eye as the butler glanced up from his pudding, holding her gaze for a second before both looked away again and resumed interest in their desserts.

Their solitude however was suddenly interrupted by laughter from Cook and Mrs Hitchin, the visiting housekeeper.

"Ladies please, do enlighten us to your conversation." Felix interrupted. "It must be worth sharing if it is that entertaining." He added with a smile.

"Oh it's nothing really, just some news we picked up from some of the servants that were here for the ball over the weekend." Cook replied, going slightly red as everyone's attention was now focussed on them.

"Gossip I think you mean!" Felix replied. "Oh you have to share now; I think we could all do with some entertainment this evening!" He added wickedly, shooting a glance at Jarvis.

"Felix I don't think we should be encouraging idle gossip as it is that that we are constantly trying to prevent the lower servants from doing." Jarvis retorted disdainfully.

"I don't think hearing a little news from outside of Taplows will do any harm. We are simply keeping abreast of current affairs in other houses." Felix replied. "Ladies do please tell us!" He implored further.

"It was just something that I overheard a couple of the maids discussing." Cook began tentatively. "It was that the butler over at Rawdon house has caused a bit of a scandal recently, that's why he wasn't here at the weekend with his lordship."

"Scandal!" The chef asked, leaning forward slightly, his face all intrigued. "What sort of scandal?"

"Well it seems as though he was ummmm…."

"He was what!" Felix demanded as Cook's complexion took on an even ruddier hue than usual.

"He was caught in a rather compromising position with his housekeeper!" Mrs Hitchin cut in gleefully, enjoying the gasps of surprise and intrigue from around the table. "Apparently his lordship caught them, in the middle of the day and all, threw them out into the street that very same day! Such a to do! No wonder his servants were wanting to swap gossip so badly!"

"My my! The butler has run off with his housekeeper! That is scandalous indeed!" Felix remarked amusedly, turning to glance slyly at Jarvis as he did so. "It must certainly be a sinful house to allow such a thing to occur, wouldn't you say so Mr Jarvis!" He asked with an air of innocence.

"Quite Mr Kraus." Jarvis snapped curtly, draining his wine glass and indicating a maid to refill it for him.

"Isn't the butler at Rawdon house the really strict, puritanical one?" One of the valets suddenly asked.

"Oh yes, he is! Or he was!" Mrs Hitchin replied "He would immediately sack any lower servant who he even suspected of 'immoral goings-on'. And now he has run off with his housekeeper, who was not the most attractive woman this side of London it must be said." She added bhily as an aside. "How are the mighty fallen!"

Down at her end of the table Flora was trying to keep her head down and remain inconspicuous. Of all the topics to come up at dinner time, butlers and housekeepers conducting inappropriate relationships was certainly not top of her list for most convenient. The timing was unbelievable given what had happened yesterday between her and Mr Jarvis. Was this why it had been brought up she suddenly thought? Maybe someone had seen them together by the lake and was hinting at something? Trying to stifle the reflexive panic she quickly looked up at the butler to try and gauge his reaction.

Jarvis however was steadfastly trying to ignore the conversation and concentrate on his wine glass. Damn that woman for bringing this topic up and damn Felix for encouraging her, bloody foreigners with their insatiable desire for gossip he thought moodily. He knew very well what Felix was hinting at and he was not going to rise to the bait, especially after yesterdays incidents between the two of them. However he couldn't resist glancing up at the table, his attention immediately drawn to the fact that Mr Edwards could not keep his eyes off Mrs Ryan and was staring at her with a slightly amused and even slightly hopeful expression. Clenching his fists at what the other man was thinking about, Jarvis had to resist the urge to tell him to keep his eyes to himself and to forget any unprofessional thought with regard to Flora Ryan this instant. Glaring at the other man, he shifted his gaze slightly on realising his housekeeper was looking at him, looking slightly worried and blushing even further when she realised who he had been glaring at.

Knowing just what he was thinking about, given his opinions on Mr Edwards, Flora blushed, realising how it would now look when she left to go to the other household with Mr Edwards. Locking Jarvis's gaze, she tried to convey as much reassurance as possible that that was certainly not the case, a slight air of pleading about her expression as his remained stony.

Meanwhile Felix had been watching this silent exchange with interest while keeping one ear tuned into the conversation, now pointedly coughed in Jarvis's direction causing the butler to look away from his housekeeper and at the chef instead. Shaking his head in exasperation when the butler was looking at him, he subtly mouthed 'talk to her' when no one else was looking. Holding the chef's gaze for a moment or so, the butler frowned and then looked down at his wine glass again. Felix was never going to let this one drop he thought moodily; maybe he should just talk to the woman and get it over with. However he was saved from any further musings on that topic by the clanging of the Earl's bell demanding his presence as soon as possible. Muttering his apologies to the rest of the staff, Jarvis stood and quickly retreated, glancing back once over his shoulder at Flora as he left the room.

The atmosphere at breakfast for the senior servants a couple of days later was not much better as most people had got wind of the unspoken argument between butler and housekeeper which did nothing to dissipate the tension. Rumour was rife through the household that Mrs Ryan was going to be leaving along with the visiting servants to become housekeeper at Mr Edwards's house but neither Jarvis nor Flora had confirmed these rumours which only had only served to increase the speculation, especially as the butler's increasingly hostile attitude to Mr Edwards had been noted.

Around mid-morning after he had dealt with the Earl, the butler had retreated to his office to try and clear a little of his paperwork and enjoy a cup of tea without any interruptions, or so he hoped.

Not ten minutes after he had settled down then there was a knock on the door and on the butler's curt 'Come in', a very jovial Mr Edwards entered.

"I'm rather occupied at the moment Mr Edwards, is it important." Jarvis snapped with a slight frown on his face as he returned to his books, after a brief glance up had shown him who the disturber of his peace was.

"I'll keep it brief Mr Jarvis don't worry, I know as well as you the onerous task of paperwork eh! And so, errrr, anyway, yes I came to talk to you about Mrs Ryan." He continued, slightly flustered as Jarvis carried on writing and gave no indication whatsoever that he was listening, just his grip on his pen tightened ever so slightly. "I had no idea she was thinking of leaving Taplows but she came to see me yesterday and inquired about the vacant housekeeper position at my house. Of course I was delighted, she seems excellent, she can start immediately I said although I imagine you'd want a bit more notice than that eh Mr Jarvis?"

"Indeed Mr Edwards. I take it you won't be wanting a character from me then?" Jarvis replied through a clenched jaw, not trusting himself to look up at that smug idiot stood next to his desk for fear of telling him exactly what he thought of him.

"No, no, Mr Jarvis. I'm sure everything will be fine. If you could let me know how much notice you'd like her to give that would be marvellous!"

"I'm sure it would be; now if you'll excuse me I really must get on with this." Jarvis retorted sarcastically, a fake smile plastered on his face as he finally glanced up at the other man.

"Of course, of course. I'll leave you to it." Mr Edwards said quickly, sensing that the butler perhaps wasn't in the best of moods and backing towards the door, as he did so almost bumping into the housekeeper who had just appeared in the doorway. "Ah Mrs Ryan! We were just talking about you!" He greeted jovially.

"Nothing bad I hope Mr Edwards." The housekeeper replied slightly nervously as she caught a glimpse of the almost murderous expression on Jarvis's face over the other man's shoulder.

"Not in the slightest Flora. I look forward to seeing you at lunch." He added, patting her on the arm as he left the room and closing the door behind him.

"Mr Jarvis I was wondering if we could…" But before she could even complete a sentence she was interrupted by an incandescent Mr Jarvis.

"Do you know what you are doing Mrs Ryan?" He hissed. "Because it seems to me you are acting either very out of character or most naively in this situation."

"I do not know what you are talking about Mr Jarvis." Flora replied indignantly.

"You know perfectly well what I'm talking about; it is your refusal to consider all the information when taking up a position at a new house, like that man's less than professional interest in you for example!"

"There is no evidence for that whatsoever! He has behaved like a consummate gentleman the entire time, which is more than I can say for some of your behaviour these past few days." She retorted, looking him in the eye but unable to prevent herself from blushing as the memory of their kiss by the lake resurfaced. "What exactly is the problem you have with me leaving Taplows?" She demanded. "I told you I would stay until you found a replacement, so it is not inconvenience surely?"

"I think you are missing the point Mrs Ryan…" He shot back softly, rising from his seat and taking a step towards her.

"No I think you are Mr Jarvis!" She retorted angrily, her body now shaking slightly with indignation, why couldn't he just let this topic rest and let her move on like she wanted? "It seems you never liked Mr Edwards from the beginning but I am not basing my career choices on the whims of your personal likes and dislikes.

"It is not a whimsical dislike Mrs Ryan!" He snapped, his temper flaring, why the hell couldn't she be reasonable about this and admit the man was a creep?

"Well it seems that way to me as you have given me no decent reason to stay at Taplows." She snapped back, glaring at him, her eyes bright and cheeks flushed with anger. "You've been angry with me since I told you I was leaving but not once have you told me why or even thought to ask me to stay, and who knows what my decision would have been then Walter." She spat, not caring what he thought of her now, she was leaving and never had to see him again if she didn't want.

Seeing the stunned expression on his face, she smiled slightly and turned to storm out the room, but before she reached the door the butler caught her wrist and pulled her back towards him. Sliding his other arm round her waist and pulling her up against him, he leant down and ignoring her startled gasp of 'Mr Jarvis what...' kissed her firmly on the lips. Feeling her resistance at first, he tightened his hold on her and kissed her more deeply until eventually she succumbed and began to kiss him back properly, sliding her arms round his neck and running her hands up into his hair as he pushed her back against the door of his office and out of sight of any passers-by.

"Is that a good enough reason to stay then Mrs Ryan?" He murmured breathlessly, placing kisses across her cheek and then down her neck as they broke apart for breath.

"I'll certainly consider it Mr Jarvis!" She moaned as his mouth moved back up her neck to claim her lips once again.

- - - - -

The next day was again hectic below stairs as all the visiting servants began to get ready to depart, dragging cases down to the courtyard, making sure all the carriages were there and of course preparing their lord and ladyships for travelling. As the time came for Mr Edwards and his party to leave then Mr Jarvis suddenly appeared in the courtyard.

"Ah Mr Edwards, I felt I couldn't possibly let you leave without saying goodbye." Jarvis said as the other man was about to get into his carriage. "I do hope Mrs Ryan managed to speak to you and clear up that little misunderstanding regarding her departure." He added sincerely

"Yes she did Mr Jarvis. We'll be sorry not to see her in Berkshire but if she should change her mind then she…"

"Yes I don't think that is going to happen but thank you ever so much for your concern. Good day Mr Edwards." Jarvis cut in sharply, shutting the carriage door with a satisfying slam.

"So the rumours were wrong I take it then Walter." Felix muttered in the butler's ear as they watched the carriage clatter off out the courtyard and up the hill. "Mrs Ryan will not be leaving us for Berkshire?"

"I can assure you Felix; Mrs Ryan will most certainly be with us for the foreseeable future." Jarvis replied with a smile, patting Felix on the shoulder before turning and heading back into the house, yelling for Mr Cosmo as he did so.

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That evening after a much more relaxed dinner than some of the previous nights, the butler and housekeeper retired to Jarvis's office having given the excuse of excessive amounts of paperwork to the rest of the staff including a very smug looking chef.

"You're not missing our dear friend Mr Edwards yet I hope!" Jarvis inquired with a smile as he handed Flora a drink before settling down in the fireside chair opposite her.

"Not too much really, I've had my mind elsewhere to be honest." Flora replied, smiling back at him.

"I'm glad to hear it, although I still can't believe you were prepared to leave to go with him." Jarvis snorted into his drink.

"I wasn't leaving with him Walter; it was just the only way out I could see." Flora rebuked softly

"Hmm, well as long as you aren't going to be pining after him then I can probably manage to forget about it." He demanded playfully, putting down his drink and holding out his hand, indicating for her to come and join him on his chair.

"How are you going to make sure I don't pine away for him in secret then?" Flora asked, smiling lovingly down at him as she walked over to him before gingerly sitting down on his lap, relaxing against him and resting her head on his shoulder as he wrapped his arms round her waist and pulled her properly into his embrace.

"I'm sure I'll think of something Mrs Ryan." He murmured as he kissed her softly on the forehead. "I'll think of something."

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End file.
